Stained
by Mystrothedefender
Summary: Ludwig, a German officer during an invasion of Italy, lends a young man his scarf. He then finds it impossible to get the man, and his words, out of his head. Set in general late WW2, around 1940/1945 ish...
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, a new Feliciano and Ludwig story.**

**This is my first one, of first 'proper' one.**

**This story has no real grounds in history, it's just a nice idea. So don't have a go at me for historical inaccuracy... not that many of you would ;3**

Feliciano sighed happily as he walked down the lane from his house, he wasn't entirely sure why he had walked this way, he hadn't done in quite a while, but there was something that had seemed pretty about it today.

Not that it didn't always look pretty.

He stilled, hearing an odd noise coming from beyond the bushes.

As beautiful as this place was, it had become a little dangerous. A few of the people he knew had disappeared on their way to town, no one was sure why they were taken, but everyone knew by whom.

The boy swallowed hard as the noise approached, "I-If you are German, I don't know anything, I'm not worth kidnapping."

They didn't have to know he knew anything, he was just a kid, what would a kid know!

He exhaled in relief as a cat emerged from the bush, "Oh thank god… Kitty, I though you were a German wanting to kidnap me. Don't scare me like that."

He bent down and ran his hand through the cats fur, "Hey, kitty kitty, what are you doing down here anyway? There are big scary Germans down here, and I'm sure they wouldn't mind treading on a kitty."

The cat turned in his hand, purring softly, if he didn't know better he'd say the thing wasn't even paying attention to what he were saying. "Well then… Where do you live kitty?"

He looked at the tag on the cat's collar, and smiled, "Oh, I know where you live… Come with me kitty, your family is worried about you," he had seen a sign on a tree about a missing cat, and heard one of the neighbour children talking about their lost cat.

He leant down to pick up the little grey cat, "Maybe they think you've been kidnapped too."

The kitty began squirming in his hands, it turned on its heels and ran down the road, around a corner, towards someone's house, "Kitty?" Feliciano said with a frown, "Where are you going?"

He followed the cat down the row of bushes, whispering gently 'kitty, come here kitty.'

As he came past the high bushes he gasped to himself; he stood, finding himself looking at the back of a German uniform.

He hadn't expected to see this.

He watched as the cat walked up to the tall German, "Oh no…" he whispered to himself.

The cat rubbed against the man's leg, and the grey-suited man looked down at it, Feliciano's heart jumped as he saw the man smile.

"Hallo liebling, wo bist du hin? Huh, kitty?" the blonde man said as he leant down to stroke the cat.

Feliciano frowned to himself; he knew some German, his family had attempted to teach him it when the 'invasion' had started. The German had asked where the cat had been. The kitty knew him?

He was stroking and tickling the cat. Feliciano frowned, he had been told Germans were… ruthless, bloodthirsty, that 'under no circumstances must he talk to one of those bastards'.

Ruthless, bloodthirsty bastards didn't care about cats…

…He knew who the cat belonged to, and he knew where it lived and that the family missed the cat…

He should at least ask if he could take it back, it wasn't fair for them to lose their cat and this man didn't seem _that_ bad.

He inhaled deeply, "E-Excuse me, sir…" he said, in English, he knew English better than he knew German, and he had been told that German officers were taught English in case they were captured.

The German raised to his feet, towering over Feliciano, his cold blue eyes bearing down on the young man, "What?" he questioned, confused by the presence of an English speaking Italian, he'd met no other that could.

Feliciano's eyes dropped to the floor, and he felt his skin crawl. "I-I…" he cleared his throat, "I need to take that cat back to its owner…"

The German looked between him and the cat, "Oh, you know its owner?"

Feliciano nodded, looking down at the cat.

"It's been following me all morning," the German said, taking the cat into his arms, the animal began to struggle in the man's arms, he cooed and it eventually stopped, it's eyes wide.

"I'll put my belt on its collar," Feliciano said gently, approaching the man as he undid his belt, feeling his loose trousers begin to sag as he did so.

He saw the German blush, "N-No, I'll uh…" the man reached into the bag he had slung over his shoulder, "I'll use my scarf."

Feliciano watched as he tied a cream and yellow scarf to the cats collar, and took a step forward, handing the smaller man the scarf. He would have been perfectly happy to use his belt, he didn't understand why the man had been so quick to stop him.

"…How will I return it to you?" Feliciano asked, smiling sweetly as he took the cat.

The German shook his head, "You don't need to... but I'm staying near here. If I see you I'll take it back."

Feliciano nodded; it was late autumn already, he could tell this winter would be cold, and this would eliminate the need to buy a new one for himself. He could just… hide, if he saw the German again.

He knew his brother would probably kill him for having just this much contact.

"Ve…" he cooed down at the cat as it rubbed against his leg, he moved his eyes back up to the German man, "Thank you for your scarf mr… uh…"

"_Oberst_ Beilschmidt."

Feliciano frowned, "What's that?"

"Uh… it's a type of German officer… "

The Italian nodded, and began to walk away, leading the cat behind him, "Well, thank you Mr Officer Bell-shu-mit, and thank you for not kidnapping me."

The German watched the young man walk away, "…Kidnapping? Was?"

**I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Part two!**

**I like this story :3**

"Feli! Where the hell have you been?" Romano said angrily as the younger man walked through the door, traipsing in the hard mud that had stuck to his shoes.

"I found next door's kitty and I wanted to return it," Feliciano replied, a large smile shining on his face.

Despite his general 'grump' Romano found it hard to get mad at his brother when he was this happy; happy after doing the right thing. "I was worried sick, you idiot…" he looked at the scarf that Feliciano had wrapped around his arm, "Where did you get that? I gave you money for milk," he noticed that his brother had no bags with him, "Did you buy a damn scarf rather than milk?!"

"No, I didn't get to go to town, I was on my way and I met a… man, and he gave me the scarf to take the kitty so it wouldn't run, then I took the kitty to its owner and I got to keep the scarf. I'm sorry I forgot the milk, I can go back out to get some if you want?"

Romano shook his head, waving his hand dismissively, "No, no… I'll ask Antonio to get some on his way home."

Feliciano chuckled, "Oh, Antonio?"

Romano threw his brother a dirty look, he reached out and took the scarf from the lighter haired man, to test the quality of it, he wasn't going to have his brother walking around in a peasant's scarf… He looked at it and frowned, "This… Is this German?" he asked, pointing to the foreign scrawl on the label.

The smaller man looked at the label, he hadn't thought of this. "I-I…"

Romano's frowned deepened, "What did he look like, did you get his name?"

"Uh, B… it began with a B, I don't remember, I'm sorry Romano, forgive me, I don't remember."

Romano sighed, "Where was he? Do you remember that at least?"

"On the road to town," the man frowned slightly, "But, um… Romano… I have a question."

"What?"

"You said," he spoke slowly, for once, knowing this was a subject that would madden his brother, "That Germans were horrible, and wouldn't show mercy… but the man I met… if he was German… He was really nice to me, and to the kitty."

"He was acting," the man said sharply, "Germans are liars. They are taught to act to fit in with their surroundings."

…But the man didn't even know Feliciano had been there, and he certainly wouldn't have been lying to the cat.

Feliciano nodded regardless, "Oh… ok."

Romano stopped suddenly, pointing to the smaller man, "And don't wear that scarf. For all we know that's how they track the people they want to take."

Feliciano watched Romano walk into the living-room, shoving the scarf in one of the bureau's draws, meaning to show it to Antonio, and tell him to watch out for anyone else wearing a similar scarf, in case it was a new way of tracking.

That would be damn smart of them.

.

Ludwig walked into the army base, to his temporary bunk, opposite his brother's.

He lay on the neatly folded cover, sighing gently.

He hated these beds, they were so uncomfortable, they should be getting new ones soon, when they moved in properly, into the house that was being built for them.

He thought back to what that Italian boy had said, how widely he had smiled at him, despite obviously being scared. It had been a sincere smile; he was a happy kid.

He had just walked past the building site… the Italian workers there had looked at him with such hatred, he'd not noticed it before. He doubted that the hatred had appeared over the course of the day… it must be that boy's smile, warping his perception, making him notice things he had not noticed before.

"Hallo," he breathed to his brother as he saw the man approach.

"You seem a little down," the platinum blonde haired man said, looking down at the German.

Ludwig nodded, "Ja, just something an Italian boy said to me."

Gilbert scoffed in amusement, "Oh? What shit are they spewing now?"

"They say we are kidnapping them…"

The older man let out a loud laugh, taking a seat on his own bunk "The rumours they come up with…"

Ludwig frowned, "Yes, but I have seen some near the bases, and they didn't seem too happy to be there."

"Just native employees! You cannot expect us to ship in our own kind just to clean to baths," Gilbert said with a wave of his hand.

"I don't know if I believe you… Even then they would be happy to have a job, especially in this climate."

Gilbert frowned at him, "You should believe me. I am your older brother, don't you understand the concept?"

Ludwig moved his eyes to his hands, folded over his stomach, "Ja, but that doesn't mean I have to follow you blindly."

"I will fight you," the man said in a mock-playful tone.

"Ja, and I will win," the blonde replied in an equally violent manor.

"Look… you should limit your contact with them… I don't know why you speak to them, they're all so… stupid."

Ludwig chuckled, "I don't know… don't you get the feeling that they're… putting it on. Fooling us?"

The smaller man shrugged, "I don't know… I mean, they can't all be like that, but, I've spent time with them and… Ja…"

"Ja…"

Gilbert smiled, laying himself down on the opposing bed.

A small chuckle left Ludwig's lips, and an echo from Gilbert, followed by a louder one.

**I know it's a little short, forgive me.**

**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3.**

**I'm having to make it a little more historically accurate because I do now have a masterplan for this story. Much thanks to Zarazabuza for the idea of it. I hope you like this story.**

It had been almost a month since Feliciano had received the yellow and cream scarf from that German officer. He saw it everyday; Romano had hung it up on the wall to remind the young man of the likelihood of a German deception.

The young man sighed as he opened the door; it had snowed overnight… this was the coldest day this year, Feliciano was sure of it.

…He had been tasked with getting food for the weekend; Romano was having some friends over, and Feliciano had said he would cook something.

Romano had gone out… and had taken the only scarf with him, and he wouldn't be back for a fair few hours.

Wearing the German's scarf just once wouldn't hurt.

What was the likelihood that the two would meet again?

Campobasso was a large city. There was almost no chance.

Well… there was no chance he wasn't going out without a scarf…

He pulled it off the wall and wrapped it around himself, stuffing the loose ends into his blue coat.

He walked down the hill from his house, into the slope of the town, slipping only twice, and laughing to himself when he saw a boy half his age do the same.

He was quick to move in and out of the shops, he didn't want to tempt fate.

Ludwig noticed him as he strolled past on of the old buildings. Or more, he noticed the scarf.

He had decided on a whim to walk the half-mile, in the gorgeous virgin snow, to see if he could buy any chocolate. A rare treat for himself.

"Hey!" he yelled as the man walked past him.

The boy turned, his eyes widening with almost-fear as they came to rest on the German's face, "…Merda," he squeaked, he span on the spot and ran, skidding on the ice and snow as he did.

Ludwig frowned, "Wait!" he yelled after the boy, jogging off after him, he, it would seem, was a lot better at running on snow than the Italian boy, as he was able to catch up with him quite easily, he reached out his hand and grabbed him by the wrist.

As he tightened his grip on the Italian's arm he felt the boy start to squirm, freaking out and screeching, "Let me go! Let me go! Oh dio I'm gunna be kidnapped, Romano told me this would happen, I should have been more careful! I-"

"I'm not going to kidnap you!" The German shouted, "Why on earth would you think that?"

The boy stared down at the large hand wrapped around his wrist, "Romano said that people were being taken, kidnapped for no reason, even the old man down the road got taken on his way to work! Why would you kidnap an old man? He was almost 70, you had no use for him!"

"Calm down," Ludwig said gently, trying to calm the boy, the hazel eyes still affixed to the German's wrist, "I have no reason to kidnap anyone."

"You're German, that's reason enough."

"Was?"

"Romano says-"

"I don't care what Romano says."

"Then why won't you let me go?!"

Ludwig let go of Feliciano's arm, and the boy seemed to relax instantly, even sighing gently.

"Now will you talk calmly?" Ludwig asked, taking a small step towards the young man, "I didn't 'kidnap' you last time, I have not 'kidnapped' you this time, and I do not plan to 'kidnap' you at any time in future."

Feliciano smiled, "Oh, good. So what do you plan to do with me?"

Ludwig frowned; did he realise how that sentence sounded?

"I plan… I want to know your name," the taller man stated.

"Oh," Feliciano stopped for a second, thinking to himself; Romano had said it would be bad to let Germans know his name in case they wanted to take him… but the German said he didn't care what Romano had said, and the German had said he didn't plan to kidnap him.

He held out his hand, "I'm Feliciano Vargas."

The German took his hand and shook it reluctantly, "Uh, I'm Ludwig Beilschmidt."

"I knew it started with a B…" Feliciano said happily, "Um…" he put his hand to the fabric around his neck, "You want your scarf back, yes?"

The German nodded, then looked down at the relatively thin clothes the boy was wearing "…Nein, actually. My brother is buying me a new one."

"Oh you have a brother? I have a brother, his name is Romano, he's grumpy but he cares for me, what's your brother like?"

"…Very much the same," Ludwig said with confusion; why would he care, at all?

Feliciano laughed, "I think all big brothers are the same, it's nice you think?"

Ludwig frowned, "Yes, I do."

Feliciano stood, smiling sweetly at the larger man. Maybe Romano had been mistaken, this German didn't seem bad. He seemed very sweet; caring for cats and not kidnapping him and having a caring brother.

"I think my brother might be wrong about Germans… or you at least."

"Your brother knows nothing of me, he can't just put all Germans in a box and label it 'bad'."

Feliciano nodded, beginning to shiver, "Yeah, I'd hate if someone put me in a box."

Ludwig frowned, "Are you ok?"

Feliciano rubbed his arms, "Yes, I'm fine, I'm just cold."

Ludwig's frown deepened, and he looked through out the town, "We could get a cup of coffee?"

"I.. uh… I don't have enough money," Feliciano said, blushing and looking at the floor in embarrassment.

Ludwig shrugged, honestly he felt bad for the boy, "I'll pay," he was wearing clothes better suited for spring, and had no spare money.

The boy smiled widely, "Oh that's so nice of you!" he cooed happily.

Feliciano's eyes dropped to the floor, "I should probably go though… I'm supposed to cook for my brother and his friends, and I don't know what time they're coming over."

"Oh," the German said gently, "Ja, ok."

"I'll be back in town soon though, ok? I'll see you at some point," Feliciano said as he turned to walk away, happily swinging his bags of food as he did.

"Ja, of course."

**Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yes, yes, I'm uploading these quickly.**

The boy's footsteps were indented in the snow, it had been twenty minutes and they still looked freshly laid.

Ludwig took a bite of his freshly bought chocolate, he felt an odd weight on him as he looked at the indents.

He wondered where they led.

The boy was so young, barely a man.

He said he'd lived with his older brother, but how much older could that be?

And he looked so small…

He found himself following the footsteps, though he wasn't really sure why.

He didn't really think, he just walked.

He didn't know why, but the only question on his mind was 'is he ok?' He had seemed… there was something about him, that he couldn't put his finger on.

Something that made his insides squirm.

Uncomfortable, but… intriguing.

He didn't know what it was.

He didn't like not knowing.

He found himself in one of the better parts of town, looking upon a large, old house.

This was his house?

Well then… was all that a ruse?

The bad clothes, the small amount of food.

Why would he put on an act like that?

He ducked down, behind a bush as he heard the boy's shrill voice shout 'Romano!'

He let out a light exhale, and frowned to himself as his heart began to race, for no apparent reason.

He turned and began to walk away, back towards the base.

"Ludwig!" he heard the familiar voice of his brother as he walked, he stopped, feeling himself blush slightly; how much of that had the older man seen?

He smiled to his brother, "Yes, Gil?"

"What are you doing here?" Gilbert asked with a smile.

"I could ask you the same," Ludwig said defensively.

Gilbert frowned, "I… was delivering a package… I told you, remember?"

Ludwig shook his head, remembering the earlier conversation, "Ja, of course. I'm sorry, I was distracted."

The older man scoffed, frowning, "Are you ok?"

"Yes," Ludwig snapped in reply, "I'm fine, I'm just cold."

They walked down the dirt road, now covered with snow, where Ludwig had first met Feliciano.

"Well if you hadn't given your scarf away…"

"Shut up."

Gilbert stopped, turning to him, a little unnerved by the man's tone, how quickly he had snapped, "Ludwig… What's wrong?"

Ludwig sighed, "I don't know… I only met him once, but he plays on my mind like he's my oldest friend."

Gilbert sighed, shaking his head as he began to walk again, "You need to stop those thoughts, brother… following urges like those will get you in trouble."

Ludwig frowned, "What? I have no 'urges'. You're talking nonsense…"

Gilbert nodded, "Ja,ja…"

The taller man's frown deepened, "Stop it, Gilbert."

"When you get a girlfriend I will…"

"You have no girlfriend."

"But I don't chase Italian boys either."

"I'm not chasing anything! I don't even know why I followed him."

Gilbert turned his head to Ludwig, frowning, his mouth open slightly, "You were following him? You followed him to the house up there?"

Ludwig nodded, glancing back up to the house.

"Oh, well then maybe being friends with him wouldn't be too bad…"

"Was?"

"The old man who lived there, he used to most of this land."

"Really? So they are rich?"

"Not anymore, but their name has a lot of pull. If they liked you it would help our cause."

They rounded the corner, walking into their base, their voices dropped slightly to limit the number of people who could hear.

"I'm not going to pretend to like a… a child, just to make our cause look good…"

Gilbert smiled, "I'm not saying that. But if that boy liked you then he might talk well of us."

"He said I wasn't as bad as his brother had led him to believe," Ludwig said, thinking back to the conversation he had had with the boy. Remembering the effervescent voice.

If he had talked to the snow it would have melted…

"His name's Feliciano," Ludwig added needlessly.

Gilbert nodded, "Well, he thinks better of us for meeting you, so I'd say your job was done."

Ludwig sighed, "Ja. I suppose you want me to stay away from him now?"

The older man chuckled loudly, making several people turn their heads. He waited for them to look away again, "Of course. They would make an example of you."

"I'm sure," Ludwig said with a smile, he opened the door to their bunkroom, walking through and finding his bed, he lay down and stared at the ceiling.

**Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review!**

**...should I really have to ask...**

**come on people...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Part 5 of this awful awful story xD**

"Romanooooo?" Feliciano called happily as he stepped through the door, simply to see if anyone was home.

There was no reply so he assumed there wasn't.

He quickly put the scarf back in its place, and began putting the food he had bought into the cupboards. Feliciano didn't mind mess, but he did liked to keep some things in order, such as food.

He heard a noise from one of the rooms upstairs, immediately frowning, he called again, "Romano?! Is that you?"

He poked his head out the kitchen door, looking up towards to where the noise had come from, trying to locate the source.

It had definitely come from Romano's room, why wasn't he answering?

He walked out into the hall, ready to climb the stairs to his brother's room "Romano? Is… there-"

Romano stepped through his door, his hair mussed, his clothes unkempt, "What? Feliciano, what the fuck? I can't get a second to myself with you here can I?"

Feliciano's frown softened with the knowledge that it was his brother up there, not some unknown possible-murderer, "I just wanted to tell you I was home, I didn't know if you were back yet."

Romano huffed, "Whatever… Did you get anything good?"

"Of course!" Feli said, glancing towards the kitchen, "I got all kinds of stuff I know you like, and I got that pasta that Antonio said he liked, and-"

A loud knock came from the door, and Feliciano whipped his head round, "Who is it?" he called loudly.

"I-It's Antonio!" a voice called back. Feliciano smiled and walked to the door, followed by his brother, opening it and embracing the man behind it.

"Hello, Feliciano," the darker haired man said with a reluctant smile.

Feliciano stepped back, "Oh Antonio, I've not seen you in so long, almost a whole week, how are you an-"

He stopped mid sentence, noticing something was wrong, he looked down at the man's feet.

"Antonio, it's snowing outside, why aren't you wearing any shoes?"

Antonio's eyes flicked between Feliciano and his brother, "Oh, um, I didn't want to tread snow through the house so I took them off."

Feliciano smiled, stepping away from Antonio and letting him in, "Oh that was considerate of you…" he moved his eyes to his brother, noticing that strange smile that was held on his face, "I'll go and start our dinner, ok?"

Romano's eyes were affixed on Antonio's, Feliciano was sure his brother was focused only on the Spanish man. He smiled gently and coaxed and answer from his brother, "Lovino?"

Romano's eyes snapped to him in a deep frown, "Don't call me that, idiot…"

Antonio smirked, "Don't be so rude to your brother," he turned his head to Feliciano, "Some food would be lovely. I've had a long day."

Feliciano heard a tiny chuckle come from his brother, he was unsure what it meant, so he backed away from the two, walking towards the kitchen, "I got that pasta that you like, Antonio."

He frowned, not receiving an answer, the two men seemed to be locked in some kind of death-stare. He left them to it, he knew how they acted together, he could hear them talking quietly to each other after he had closed the door, he didn't know what was going on.

He knew that they liked each other, why were they being so weird around him? Maybe they knew he had taken the German's scarf? Maybe Antonio saw him in town talking?

He swallowed hard as he lit the gas stove, placing a pot of water on the hob. He hoped that whatever it was, they'd come out and tell him, he didn't like when his brother kept things from him.

He put the pre-cut pasta in the pot as the water came to a simmer, and he opened the door to tell the two men that the food would be ready soon, but they had both gone.

"Romano? Antonio?" he called loudly.

"We're just in the living room, Feli," Antonio called back, Feliciano nodded to himself and continued making the food, twitching his head towards the door at every noise he heard from the pair in the living room.

He heated some sauce and poured it over the pasta when it was cooked, he couldn't stop his mouth from watering, couldn't help licking his lips, or stealing a piece or two from the bowls as he poured out the food.

He walked towards the living room, frowning gently, he could hear them talking inside, it sounded like they were arguing.

"I'm not telling him!" Romano shouted, "You can fucking do it! I'm not going to, I'm not having my fratello thinking of me as some… I don't even know what he'd think of me."

"Don't get upset, Lovi, it's not something that could be helped. Calm down."

"Don't tell me what to do, bastard!"

Feliciano heard Romano get to his feet, and jumped back so the door wouldn't smack into his face as his brother shoved it open.

Feliciano stared wide eyed at his brother, he looked so upset, the man stopped, staring down at the slightly smaller man, he let out a small huff and stormed off upstairs, swearing under his breath.

"I… I made pasta," Feliciano said quietly, looking towards where his brother had gone.

"Bring it in here, Feli…" Antonio said, sounding a little dispirited, "He'll be back down soon."

"Of course he will!" Feliciano chirruped, "He likes tomato pasta almost as much as I do."

Antonio smiled at the small man, impressed at how easily he brushed off awkward situations like that, though, seeing as he had been living with Romano his whole life, he would be used to it. "Take a seat Feli… I, I have something to tell you."

"Ve?" Feliciano squeaked as he sat down, placing his own pasta on his lap and handing Antonio his own, putting Romano's on the table that separated the two sofas. "What's the matter, Antonio?"

Antonio sighed to himself, shifting uncomfortably in his chair, "…I wish your brother were here to tell you, I don't feel right doing it on my own…" he mumbled, saying it as if he didn't think Feliciano could hear.

Feliciano cocked his head, "Well I could get him?"

"No, no… It's ok, he's irked enough as it is…" he sighed again, "Feliciano. We thought you should know. Your brother and I… are in a physical and intimate relationship, and have been for over 2 months. He didn't want to tell you, but I don't feel right hiding it from you."

"Oh," Feliciano said quietly, his eyes dropping to the plate of pasta on his knees. Why would Romano hide something like this for so long? Why had he not wanted to tell him? Did Romano think he would reject him because of it? Romano was his brother, Feliciano would never think of doing that to him.

"Does he hate me?" Romano's voice called from upstairs, "Bastard, you better not hate me!"

He sounded so upset. Feliciano's brow crinkled, and he turned his eyes to the direction of Romano's voice, "No, fratello. How could I hate you?"

"…He's worried you'll think of him as a monster," Antonio said quietly.

Romano's head peaked round the door, thinking the worst part was over. Feliciano's eyes fixed on him, "You're my fratello. I could never think of you as a monster."

Romano stared at Antonio, "I never said that, don't put words in my mouth, idiota."

Feliciano smiled, and looked between the two, "Romano, I made you tomato pasta," he said in an attempt to quell the tension.

Romano huffed gently, and walked into the room, picking up his plate and sitting on the same sofa as Antonio, but huddled on the opposite end. Antonio smiled and watched him begin to eat, picking at his own food also.

"Does this mean you only like boys, Romano?" Feliciano inquired after a minute or so, simply curious, "You used to go after girls like a hound."

Romano seemed to curl in on himself, trying not to get mad over an innocent and serious question. "I didn't want you to think I was a freak, or to teach you wrong… I pretended."

"Oh," Feliciano said again, eating his food slowly, looking between the food and his brother, "I just though… Because, I like girls… but I think I might like boys too. I thought you might be like me."

"What?!" Romano said loudly, sitting up straight, "You what?"

"I…I like boys, as well as girls," Feliciano said quietly.

Romano exhaled through gritted teeth, as if it wasn't dangerous enough for his brother in the world already, did he not know what they did to people who expressed such_ urges_? One of the reasons he hadn't wanted to tell Feliciano about him and Antonio was the risk it would put the boy under. If anyone found out then they would both be in trouble.

"Feliciano, you must never tell anyone about this. Not about myself and Antonio, or about yourself. You understand?"

Feliciano frowned slightly, "But Romano, it's who I am."

"But you will get killed for it, you idiot! No one must know!"

Antonio raised his brow, "Don't scare him, Romano, no one's going to get killed."

Romano's frown deepened, "Those German bastards will do it. They have done before."

"Romano…" Feliciano mumbled, Romano was doing it again, blaming the Germans, but Feliciano had met one, he didn't seem bad, he wouldn't do something like that, he wouldn't kill someone for something as stupid as liking boys, Feliciano could tell.

Romano was getting so frustrated over such a small thing, Feliciano didn't want him to be angry. "… I won't tell anyone, I promise."

Antonio reached out a hand to take Romano's, "It's ok, Lovi. Nothing bad will happen to you or your brother, I'll make sure of it."

"What, will you cut out his tongue?" Romano said angrily, turning to his boyfriend, trying to hide the sadness in his eyes.

Antonio held a hand to Romano's face, cupping his jaw, "Lovino. No one is going to tell. Ok?"

Feliciano smiled as Antonio pulled Romano into a tight hug, the man struggled slightly, and swore quietly to himself before cautiously reciprocating.

He was so happy that Romano had someone, truthfully, knowing that his brother was in his mid 20s and had never had a serious relationship was troubling. It made Feliciano feel that he was going down the same path. But, maybe, now that Romano had found someone, he would find someone too.

Someone who would care for him as much as Antonio cared for Romano. Someone who liked pasta and kitties would be lovely, but, as long as they cared, that would be enough.

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